Modems

A lot has been written and said about modems over the past couple of
years, but what exactly are they and what
use are they to the average manic gamer? Mike Roberts fills his pockets
with 10p bits and goes searching for an
un-vandalised phone.

The principal behind a modem is very simple. Computer signals go out of a
computer formatted as changes in voltage
level. All a modem does is to change them into bleeping noises so they can
go down a phone. So why is there
such a variation in prices? Well,
like anythingelse there are lots
of extras onto this basic system that you really do need and lots that
you don't.

It is likely that the cheaper land of modems that you may come across,
whilst being just usable, are not really
suitable for any prolonged use. The general rule is to get a
direct connect modem that can handle 1200/75 and
300/300 baud protocols and some software that can access bulletin
boards and Prestel type displays. Auto dial is useful,
but not necessary, though it does cut out a lot of the
trouble. Some modems will only support the
Prestel type of use, though it is much better to get one of the more flexible types.

Free Software!

The main use of a modem for the ardent games player is
free software - yes, you can get software absolutely free
with your modem. The main source is through bulletin boards and
Prestel/teletext systems, for this you need a
modem and appropriate software. An application like this
is where the direct connect modem really comes into its
own. The direct connect results in less information being
garbled, though you do have to have a socket, which could be
expensive to fit. Acoustic couplers are the other type,
and generally consist of a pair of rubber cups that attach to
the phone. This is cheaper than a direct connect if you have no
socket, though some corruption can seep in - which is important
if you axe downloading programs.

Downloading refers to the system of loading a program through
a computer from a viewdata source. Some modem
packs contain software to do this, notably the Commodore system
for Compunet, which has a large amount of S/W,
and the Demon modem for the BBC which uses a single command to extract
software in a number of different
formats. If you are interested in the free software, then make
sure that the software that you get for your modem can
download the various games and utflities that are available.

Currently it is only the main computers that are well supported in this
field: Commodore, BBC, Spectrum and the older
types such as the Apple and the TRS 80. This is because all of the first
bulleun boards were for Pets, Apples and Tandys. In those days computing
was very easy because there were only those three computers that were priced
at under £1000. The IBM also has some software available on the boards
(though thavs a bit out of the scope of this piece!).

Apart from the bulletin boards, which are free, there axe
the viewdata services Prestel and Compunet. As previously explained,
Compunet is only available through a special Commodore modem and is
currently only available for the C64, though a BBC system has been proposed.
Compunet works in a similar, though improved, way to the Micronet on the
first viewdata service in the world, Prestel. This sub-service on Prestel,
called Micronet, is like a super-bulletin board with special interest
groups, software, and magazine-like features and news.

On both Compunet and Micronet there are areas for uploading and downloading
software. Some you have to pay for, from normal software houses, usually at
a reduced rate, but there is a large amount of public domain software at no
cost. Uploading is the process where you deposit one of your own programs
on to the system. It is a
good idea to do this to keep a good supply of public domain software flowing.

Mud glorious Mud (and other well-worn puns)

Another thing that you can do a modem is play the large scale adventures
and games. Much has been said about one of the most famous of them all
(Read all about these in this month's Multi-Modem
Games feature).
The Compunet version costs about £7 to join and £3 an hour
to play. The BT one will cost £20 to join and £2 per hour to
play, though the BT version has three times as many locations and many more
improvements over the original.

Other systems have games, such as Micronet that has a sort of Play By Mail
game using electronic mail. Bulletin boards sometimes have larger adventures
on them like the Belton
Board which has a good version of Hitch Hiker's Guide, a (self-confessed)
boring maze, and a smaller adventure on it. As bulletin boards are
largely single user, none of those types of adventures are multil user.

Another avenue that can be explored with a modem is playing
games on university computers. However, universities sometimes get a bit
ratty about this and outside users are restricted. The Open University is
a good bet although once you've played Lunar Lander 100 times it gets a
little bit boring.

Paying for it all

The main put off when thinking about modeming (if there is such a word) is
the phone bill. Well, at cheap rate, calling up Prestel costs about 40p an
hour. A friend of mine uses Prestel home banking with the Bank of Scotland.
With this he can swop his money around various accounts and make money on
the interest. He reckons that the few pounds a month he makes doing this
pays for all his Prestel time! He also keeps a jam jar next to his computer
and every time he uses it to dial up somewhere he puts a few pence in the
jar so he doesn't get surprised by extraordinary phone bills at the end of
the month. Which is one way of doing it!

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Modem manufacturers and suppliers

Minor Miracles
WS2000 and WS3000, high spec and reasonable value

Interlekt
Various modems, good quality but you pay for it

Modem House
Voyager 7 and Voyager 11 these modems are available for a
wide range of machines in bundled packages

Commodore
Cheap no-frills modem that does the job for Prestel and Compunet.
Comes with Compunet membership

Demon
Very cheap with a high spec and good software support mainly for the BBC